We keep our computers on lockdown, encrypt our data and secure them from prying eyes and online predators, but what about our backups, what about those external drives? UK-based iStorage has come up with diskAshur2, an updated line of virtually bullet-proof PIN authenticated and hardware encrypted hard drives. So even if the drive was stolen, your data is fully protected.

The beauty of this system is that your data will be secure and there’s really no need to worry about installing software, which operating system is running or what platform you’re using. All your data’s encryption (AES 256-bit XTS) is done through hardware thanks to the drive’s built-in secure microprocessor. It uses secure algorithms which encrypts both the data and encryption key. It also has built-in mechanisms to protect itself from tampering and by-pass attacks. What’s best is it’s all controlled right from the drive itself with a simple interface, a PIN pad.

The diskAshur drive series include both portable and desktop models that are both Hard Disk Drive (HDD) and Solid-State Drive SSD based with capacities up to 8TB. My test unit was the portable 1TB HDD diskAshur2.

Physically, diskAshur2 starts with tight seals on a solidly built case. It’s pocket-sized, not much bigger than the drive itself. It has a nice smooth rubber finish, so it won’t easily slip out of your hand. It has a built in pigtail USB 3.1 cable that tucks in and wraps around and the edge of the drive enclosure for easy storage and there’s also a small slot should you wish to attach a desk lock to it. It also comes with a nice compact carry case and wrist strap for added protection and portability.

Three PINs

On the front face of the drive, are three LED lights and a familiar PIN pad. The latter keeps your drive secure and is how it unlocks it. You can have up to three different PINS. The first, the Admin PIN, gives you all-access privileges to the drive including password (PIN) changes. The second, can be configured as a User pin, allowing access to read from the drive but not write to it. This can be handy to share documents or photos with others. The third pin is a self-destruct pin. In the event you’re forced to unlock your drive, when entered, it will erase everything that on the drive.

Brute Force Protection

To further protect the drive against brute force attacks, the drive will be frozen after five bad attempts. At that time the USB cable must be reinserted and five more attempts will be allowed. If entry is still unsuccessful, the users have five more tries (15 total) but must hold down the shift button when reinserting the USB cable. After 5 more unsuccessful tries the system assumes it’s under attack and permanently deletes everything on the drive including the encryption keys.

So on top of the manuals, you better remember your PIN numbers.

Lazy PIN Protection

Out of the box the drive is configured with a default Admin PIN, if you forget the default, you can find it in the user guide. Of course it would be smart and highly recommended to change it. If you do decide to change it to add a user or self-destruct PIN, the system has a little built-in protection for those who are lazy. Passwords must be 7-15 digits. The system will reject automatically passwords that have all sequential numbers like 1234567 or are all the same like 2222222. You can also use the shift key for additional digits. So 2 and shift+2 are two different entries. There is a special sequence of steps to changing the individual pins along with a series of LEDs to guide you through. With that said, make sure you keep the manual or at least a PDF copy (not on the drive) handy in case you need to refer to it.

The PIN makes it easy to unlock, but locking is just as easy. To do so, simply push the lock button on the drive. It also auto-locks upon eject. Auto-lock can also be set to lock after a specified time of non-use.

Compatibility

The unit is compatible with most devices that have a USB port. It works Windows, Linux, Android, Chrome, embedded systems and others (not iOS). It comes formatted for NTFS. If you want to use it on a Macintosh, you will need to reformat it, but it’s easily done with the Apple Disk Utility.

Bottom Line

The diskAshur2 is a well thought out product, great design and highly recommended for someone who travels, has their hardware in public places or is concerned about keeping their personal or corporate data safe. It’s also good to know that in the event of a drive theft, your data is encrypted and brute force attack controls make the drive almost bullet-proof. Of course there is a risk that you can forget your PIN or the internal controller fails in which case your drive data will likely be unrecoverable.

It’s important to know that if you have a newer device that uses a USB-C connection, you may to have to remember to carry around an adapter. And while the USB cable has a solid rubber finish, you need to take precautions. If you are excessively hard on your cables and have a tendency to pinch the ends by the connectors too much it could become unusable over time.

Still, it’s an awesome drive. I really like its size and form factor and the fact that everything is done in an enclosure not much bigger than the drive itself. Since my test unit was a 5400 RPM HDD drive, it will not perform at SSD speeds (if you need SSD speed, get the SDD model). However, it does transfer at USB 3.1 speeds and found it performed quite well against similar external drives even given diskAshur is encrypting and decrypting on the fly.

To illustrate the fine detail this drive has, the keypad has a wear resistant epoxy coating to keep hackers from identify commonly used keys.